No bar on media coverage in Adani-Hindenburg case: Supreme Court dismisses petition; Said – will give a decision soon on the formation of the committee

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking a stay on media coverage on the Adani-Hindenburg case. The court said that it cannot stop the media from reporting. At the same time, the court said that it has reserved its decision regarding the formation of the committee to investigate the matter and it will be heard soon. This petition was filed by Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma.

4 petitions reached SC in the Adani-Hindenburg case

So far 4 PILs have been filed in this matter. Advocates ML Sharma, Vishal Tiwari, Congress leader Jaya Thakur, and social worker Mukesh Kumar have filed these petitions. The first hearing in the case was conducted by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala on February 10.

Demand for registration of FIR and investigation in petitions

In the petition, Manohar Lal Sharma demanded an investigation and FIR against Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson and his associates in India. Along with this, a ban on media coverage was also demanded on this matter.

Vishal Tiwari demanded an inquiry into the Hindenburg report by forming a committee headed by a retired SC judge. In his petition, Tiwari explained the condition of people when share prices fall.

Jaya Thakur has raised doubts over the role of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and State Bank of India (SBI) in this matter. He has demanded an inquiry into the role of LIC and SBI in investing huge amounts of public money in Adani Enterprises.

Mukesh Kumar in his petition has sought directions from SEBI, ED, Income Tax Department, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to investigate. Mukesh Kumar has filed this petition through his lawyers Rupesh Singh Bhadauria and Mahesh Praveer Sahay.

Hindenburg report harmed investors

The petitions claim that Hindenburg short-sold the shares, causing "huge losses to investors". It has also been said that the report has tarnished the image of the country. It is affecting the economy. Simultaneously, the media hype over the report affected the markets and Hindenburg founder Nathan Anderson also failed to provide proof of his claims to the Indian regulator SEBI.

Group's market cap dropped 61.6% since the Hindenburg report

Since the Hinderberg report on Adani Group came out on January 24, the market cap of the group has come down by 61.6% or Rs 11.8 lakh crore to Rs 7.4 lakh crore now. Hindenburg said in his report that seven shares of the group were overvalued by more than 85%.

Among the shares of the group, the share of Adani Total Gas has broken the most. It has closed on the lower circuit in 20 sessions in the last 21 sessions. After Thursday's 5% loss, the stock has now lost nearly 80% of its value since January 25.

Its market cap was Rs 4.3 lakh crore on January 24, which has now come down to Rs 87,242 crore. Adani Green Energy and Transmission has lost about 73%. Adani Enterprises has lost almost 60% of its value in the last month.

Also Read: Billionaires List: Gautam Adani slipped to number 25 in the list of the rich, the group's market cap below $ 100 billion